August 5, 2014

ASHE SCHOW: Chuck Grassley’s spokeswoman responds to questions on campus sexual assault bill. “My concerns have not been alleviated. Gerber’s response about colleges only being able to find students guilty of violating campus policy doesn’t diminish the fact that accused students are often not allowed to contribute to their defense. . . . As one of my astute readers questioned, will men receive a discounted tuition since they won’t be receiving any of the support services this bill requires?”

These are way NOT idiots, anyone out there ever see the movie Dr. Zhivago? Steppe by steppe these people are very methodically and intentionally working to alter our society in some fundamental and very unconstitutional ways. This is NOT just political correctness, it is a political agenda! Not only does it look like parental malpractice to send children to public secondary schools, it also looks that way to send your son to higher ed. Anyone got access to male/female student ratios at Duke before and after the Lacrosse incident? Sure am hoping their percentage of male students has declined more than the national average!

The regulatory and economic assault on blue collar business, the focus on female achievement while ignoring a whole gender falling behind in school, and stacking the legal deck against men are all data points leading to one conclusion: the systematic disenfranchisement of men is part of the Democratic Party platform. If it’s not part of the Dems’ plan, then at a minimum, it is one of the consequences of continued Dem rule.

In the face of these trends, men who continue to vote Dem are Uncle Tims, and men with sons who do so are falling down in their job of looking out for their children.

So, why are the US government and the universities trying to reinvent the wheel when there are off the shelf systems that could easily handle this problem, i.e, the law enforcement internal investigation system.

We have accusations that may or may not rise the level of a crime. Those same alleged actions may, even if not criminally prosecutable, be a violation of the university's student conduct policies. This is just like many internal police investigations. So why not join with the local police to leverage the already trained and in place internal investigations procedures. At worst, the school would need to help the local police force fund one or two additional investigators as well as the training on the school's policies.

Under this system, trained, professional investigators would conduct the investigations. Just like police internal investigations, if the admin investigator comes across information that indicates a crime, they stop the internal investigation and turn the matter over for criminal investigation/prosecution determination while maintaining the suspects 5th amendment rights, etc. If the criminal prosecution is declined, then the administrative investigation proceeds to determine if there is a policy violation.

Do the students need to form a union so that they can be contractually assured of the right to legal counsel during university administrative investigations?

Now, this "internal investigation" procedure could possibly only be activated when the suspected university policy violation could lead to criminal prosecution or expulsion thus leaving the minor "crimes", such as drinking on campus, to the informal university procedures which the schools now conduct.

Seems to me that the best defense against this garbage is to march into the local police station and declare you might be a rapist. The cops are bound to investigate which now leverages the whole argument away from the campus clowns to the height of a criminal investigation where the evidencary rules are much higher and you will be provided a lawyer if you can't afford one and one will be afforded the opportunity to meet your accuser in open court. Risky? Yes. But probably preferable to a certain kangaroo court. Exoneration or no charges filed I would suggest also terminates any further action by the school.

I've got no problem with the abused students chipping away at the endowments then.

Of course, the long term strategy should be to attach the university's attack on modernity, efforts to undermine the adversarial system and due process as an abandonment of what is America. Then staple that to the forehead of every donor and gifting alum.

These are way NOT idiots, anyone out there ever see the movie Dr. Zhivago? Steppe by steppe these people are very methodically and intentionally working to alter our society in some fundamental and very unconstitutional ways. This is NOT just political correctness, it is a political agenda! Not only does it look like parental malpractice to send children to public secondary schools, it also looks that way to send your son to higher ed. Anyone got access to male/female student ratios at Duke before and after the Lacrosse incident? Sure am hoping their percentage of male students has declined more than the national average!

I'm coming around to the belief that this is not just an assault on due process but a conditioning exercise against the whole adversarial system. Probably not surprising given the conditioning of kids from birth against the testing of abilities, skills, debate positions in an open contest these days.

I was put to mind of this when I read Bryan Caplan's discussion of Michael Huemer's recent paper on the ethics of legal advocacy:

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